cable STB

DOCSIS

Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS /ˈdɒksɪs/) is an international telecommunications standard that permits the addition of high-speed data transfer to an existing cable TV (CATV) system. It defines interface requirements for cable modem.

A DOCSIS architecture includes two primary components: a cable modem (CM) located at the customer premises, and a cable modem termination system (CMTS) located at the CATV headend. 

A cable modem is a type of network bridge and modem that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) and RFoGinfrastructure. Cable modems are primarily used to deliver broadband Internet access in the form of cable Internet, taking advantage of the high bandwidth of a HFC and RFoG network. 

A typical CMTS is a device which hosts downstream and upstream ports. In the customer premises, downstream and upstream communications travel on a shared coax line ( a single F connector on the cable modem).  It is typical for the CMTS to have separate F connectors for downstream and for upstream communication. Because of the noise in the return (upstream) path, an upstream port is usually connected to a single neighborhood (fiber node), whereas a downstream port is usually shared across a small number of neighborhoods.


PacketCable

packetCable defines a common platform to deliver real-time multimedia services. Built on top of DOCSIS, PacketCable uses IP .

MOCA

Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) is an industry standard alliance developing technology for the connected home. MoCA technology runs over the existing in-home coaxial cabling, enabling whole home distribution of high definition video and content.

Conditional Access (CA)

CA is the encryption of the content prior to transmission so that only authorized users may enjoy it. In order to decrypt the protected content, the receiver uses a CA module.The CA module enables decrypting only those programs that have been authorized then feeds the decrypted content to the input of the video decoder.
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OpenCable calls their CA module "CableCard" and it is based on the PCMCIA interface. DVB uses 2 techniques to implement their CA: simulcrypt (embedded CA module)and multicrypt (DVB common interface module).